Date: Fri, 22 Jan 2016 13:55:23 -0500
From: CJ Abello <cjabello1997@gmail.com>
Subject: CJ: Autumn: Chapter 10: When You're Alone

CJ: Autumn: Chapter 10: When You're Alone

This is a work of fiction set in the real world. Certain living individuals
make appearances in the story; all other characters and the events in which
they all participate are the creation of the author. Any resemblance of the
fictional characters to actual individuals is purely coincidental.


Saturday, 21 September 2013

"G'day, mates. Welcome aboard!" JP was leaning against one of the concrete
pylons on the dock behind his house in Alexandria, holding a steaming mug
in one hand, and his phone in the other. "I was checking the weather again,
clear and sunny is still the forecast for the weekend.  Bloody hot if you
ask me, can't wait to get moving."

"Morning, Uncle Pope. It's great to see you!" CJ bumped fists with the
Aussie and kept on going, stepping aboard the PP while kicking off his
flip-flops and pulling up his t-shirt--a light gray one with the Gulf Oil
blue and orange meatball logo on it--ready for a day in the sun.  "Thanks
for letting me invite my friends. The taller guy's Harley, the other one's
Thiago. Guys, this is my uncle John Paul Smith."

"Hey! He's not that much taller than me," complained Thiago. "Good morning,
sir. Thank you so much for inviting me to go sailing this weekend. I've
never done this before!" The boy shook hands with JP while gazing at the PP
with wonderment in his eyes. "Your boat's beautiful, sir."

"Thanks, Thiago, we're happy to have you join us. But, mate, you have to
call me JP. Sir is reserved for older people: my husband... Cesar..."

"Asshole...," mumbled a smiling Cesar.

"Morning, JP! Thanks for letting me come too. I've been sailing before, on
Lake Winnebago back in Wisconsin, but I've never been on a cat. Well, yeah,
I have. But it was like so much smaller. This is gonna be fun. Are you the
captain or is the cop in charge? And CJ never told us why the boat's named
the PP. Wait. I just realized there's a captain for the boat but Cap's a
captain too. What--"

"Harley!" CJ and Thiago shouted at the same time making Cesar and Brett
chuckle.

"Ooops, sorry..."

"It's okay, mate. Energetic bugger, ain't ya? CJ, take your buddies inside,
show them to the cabins, and stow your gear. The three of you get to share
the forward ones." JP turned to his friends, who were still laughing, and
shook their hands. "Is he always like this?"

"Harley? Yeah." Brett pulled JP towards him while shaking his hand and
hugged him hard. "The kid's high on life all the time. He's fun to have
around. I'm assuming we get our normal starboard side cabin?" JP answered
his question with a nod. "I'll take our stuff down for us, babe. Let's go,
kids."

X X X

"So, you're just gonna go ahead and promote yourself to Commodore?" Cesar
grinned at Tom who had moments before ceremoniously announced his new
title. The four adults were sitting on the stern of the PP, sipping on Rum
Runners, having tossed fishing lines in the river hoping to catch
dinner. Wearing only bathing trunks and sunglasses, drops of water could be
seen on their bodies, air drying after a recent swim.

"Hell yeah! Wouldn't want poor Harley to get confused." Tom Kennedy
appeared no worse for wear after the ordeal of three weeks before. It was
hard to miss he had spent a lot of time out in the sun; his tan was dark,
and the hair on his chest shimmered with gold tones amongst the red.

"I call bullshit. You're blatantly ignoring proper protocol. The title's
just an attempt to outrank me. You wanna be able to order me around," said
Brett. In a ritual they were all familiar with, he was thoroughly covering
his ink with sunscreen. Cesar was the only one not worried about his
tattoos fading--he had none.

"You were right, mate. The kid's fun to have around," said Pope, changing
the subject. "I sure hope Bradley and Patrick get to meet him when they
come visit. CJ too, of course."

"Yeah? Kids coming to visit soon, Tommy?" Brett's excited tone and
expression spoke of happiness for his friend and delight at the prospect of
meeting Tom's boys. "You're gonna love having the kids around more than you
could ever imagine. I wouldn't trade having our boy around for anything!
Hell, I'd take CJ over his father any day."

"Fuck you, Jarhead. Remember the adoption's not done yet, and I have to
agree to it. When are your kids coming down, Tom? Any objections from your
parents?" asked Cesar.

"My parents don't know shit of it." Tom raised his middle finger and
shrugged his shoulders, the I-don't-give-a-fuck message was clear. "My
father got pissed off when he was told the boys were going to call me, so
we decided it's none of their fucking business what happens between us. I'd
grown used to not thinking of the old fools too often. Their visit changed
that. If they act up when they find out, I'll be happy to deal with them."

"Better yet, mate, you let CJ deal with them."

"JP's right, CJ would scare the shit out of my dad. I guess it was good
they did come to the hospital, and even better they met up with your
kid. Frank Kennedy running home red-faced, with his tail between his legs,
gave my ex the opening she needed." The pissed-off expression slowly
morphed to glee as he spoke of the confrontation between his father and
CJ. "The boys are flying down to spend Columbus Day Weekend. If the weather
holds out, we'll go out on the PP for an overnight. JP's birthday is that
Sunday and Bradley's is on Tuesday, so we want to have you all over to help
celebrate. Probably Sunday, we'll grill something or other, and hang out on
the dock."

"Crap. CJ won't be here. He'll be in Chicago visiting my brother, but Brett
and I will be in town."

"Mate, Bradley's gonna be so disappointed. He's been talking about wanting
to meet cousin CJ a lot. We settled on the date of the visit last night, so
I'm sure the boys aren't aware they'll miss seeing each other.  I think the
kid's real happy to reconnect with Tom and considers CJ to be responsible
for it."

"Hell, he's right." Tom leaned down to retrieve the pitcher from the ice
bucket and began pouring refills all around. "Doc won't be here that
weekend either. He's flying up to New York to meet with Sean. He's also
planning on having lunch with Cristina and Chipper while he's there."

"Can you believe that shit? The kid's disavowing his own dad in favor of
the father's ex." Cesar held his almost empty cup out for his cocktail to
be replenished. "I wonder how Chip's handling that. Not that there's a
chance of it happening, but if Brett and I were in a similar situation and
CJ dumped me for this dog, I'd be crushed."

"Ain't even a remote possibility, babe." Brett leaned over a planted his
lips on Cesar's cheek.  "You're stuck with me until one of us croaks."

"Since we're gonna be in Australia for Christmas, the ex and I agreed the
kids would come spend Thanksgiving with JP and me. I'm assuming you guys
will be in Miami, so our sons will miss each other again. Maybe I can get
them to come down another weekend in between?"

X X X

While the adults sat underneath the awning in back of the boat, sipping
their cocktails, the three teens were sprawled atop towels laid on the
netting stretched between the pontoons at the bow.

"Bro, this is frickin' insane. I love this boat. And your uncles are even
cooler in person than what they sounded like in that article in the
paper. That cop's a big, big guy. He's even taller than me!  And he looks
mean, but at the same time he's always smiling?"

"Shut up, Harley. Stop bitching. Uncle Tom's not so much taller than
you. Hell, I'm the shortest guy on board!" CJ didn't even bother to look at
his friend when he aimed his elbow at his mid- section.

"Ouch! Hey, you still look older than Thiago and I do. I bet you could buy
beer."

"Harley's right, bud. I'm older than you and I look like a little kid. It's
the shaving every day that does it. By the way, how come I didn't get Elvis
pancakes this morning? Pony Boy kept raving about them."

"No time to fix them today, the rents wanted us out of the house early." CJ
leaned up a bit and looked back and forth between his friends. "And what's
with the Pony Boy thing?"

"You ain't seen Harley naked, homes? White boy's hung! Almost makes those
stories about us black people a lie. Almost."

"Shut up, Thiago!" Harley obviously wanted to sound serious, he had
scrunched up his brow in a way which might have seemed menacing to some;
the tiny grin slowly growing on his face killed the effect.

"Fuck! Both of you are taller than me and now I find out you both prolly
have bigger dicks? Not sure I wanna hang out with the two of you any more!"

"Hush, CJ! Harley said he's looking to get adopted by your dads, and I
think I want in on the deal too. Not only are you a nice guy, but your
parents and their friends are awesome, they haven't treated me like a kid
once. Makes me want to act right for them. Oh, and the fact you're rich
don't hurt none. I love all the toys!"

"I ain't rich! And I'll have you know I've got plenty of chores to do
around the house so it's not like I get anything I want just handed to me
for the heck of it. Hell, I rarely ask for anything. I'm always scared to
spend too much money."

"Fine. You're not rich. But your dads got a couple of Franklins floating
around. I don't give a shit about the money. Best part is you're just a
regular guy, not a snotty spoiled brat!"

"Bro, I called the adoption thing first. Plus, the motorcycle toys are more
my speed. And the cars! I love the frickin' Harley truck! Hey, speaking of
toys, can we take the jet ski out?"

X X X

"Hmm, I have an idea. We're taking CJ to New York over the Veteran's Day
Holiday weekend.  November eleventh falls on a Monday this year, so he has
three days off school together. How 'bout you guys come with us? Your kids
can ride the train down from Boston, and we all get to hang out
together. The apartment's big enough, no need to worry about hotels."

"Sorry to interrupt..." CJ and his sidekicks had left the netting,
apparently climbed into the salon through one of the bow hatches, grabbed
cold bottles of water, and joined the adults at the stern. "Uncle Tom, can
Thiago, Pony, and I take the jet ski out?"

"Sure, you know where the key is." Tom raised his sunglasses, perching them
up atop his forehead, and stared at the three tall boys in front of
him. The blue of his eyes appeared to sparkle, the corner of his lips
turned fractionally up--his entire expression softened. His smile grew as
he fixed his gaze on Harley. "How'd you end up with a nickname like Pony,
bud?"

"Already got it." CJ held up a yellow foam cylinder with a key attached to
it. "And he got the nickname 'cause Thiago sez he's hung like one!"

"I'm gonna frickin' kill ya!" Harley ran after CJ, who was already jumping
into the river. Thiago joined them in the water while the adults roared
with laughter.

"You're looking forward to seeing your kids, aren't you?" Cesar had kept
his attention on the cop, while the other three men watched the kids
scamper over the side, and swim towards the divots securing the small
watercraft to the stern of the cat.

"You have no fucking idea. I go from being giddy to being worried. They
haven't seen me in so long. I'm scared how they'll react. But hell yeah I'm
excited. The thought of seeing them, and working on the boat, kept me sane
since I left the hospital."

"What the fuck you worrying for? The kids called you as soon as they were
allowed to, they're coming down to visit you voluntarily, and they know
more about all of us than you could imagine. They keep asking CJ questions
about you, Pope, us, and anything and everything else you could think of."
Brett stood up, started walking towards the glass doors leading to the
salon; he stopped and turned around right before sliding them open. "But
you may as well forget screwing in the middle of the kitchen while they're
here, and I would caution against gorilla sex. At least until they get used
to Pope's moaning and groaning."

"Fuck you, Jarhead! Moaning and groaning, my ass. You just wait until
December. See? I'll have you on my turf down in Oz. I'll get you sorted
then." JP turned his body on the curved bench they were all sitting on,
leaned his back against his husband's side, and brought his feet up onto
the cushion next to him. "I like the New York idea, Emperor."

"I think it'd be fun, guys. You can have the kids take Amtrak down and
we'll meet them at the station." Cesar and Brett had already agreed to take
the train up to the City, after CJ expressed an interest in doing so. "If
we schedule it right, we can all arrive at Penn Station around the same
time. It sure as hell beats having to go to any of the three airports."

Tom removed his arm from the top of the back cushion, draped it around his
husband's chest, and pulled him in tight against his body. "You sure
there's enough room for all of us?" He bent his head down slightly, and
placed a soft kiss atop the Aussie's head.

"Definitely. The apartment's huge. Doc bought the place from a guy who ran
into financial difficulties during the big economic turndown a few years
back. The man he got it from had spent a fortune on the place by taking two
units and merging them into one." Cesar momentarily paused as Brett
returned with a fresh batch of cocktails and went around topping everyone's
cups. "So it ended up with three bedrooms, and duplicates of every other
room. The smaller kitchen was turned into a laundry room. The two living
rooms are still there, and they both have sleeper sofas."

"I think we should do it, Commodore." JP snickered when he used the title
his husband had bestowed upon himself earlier. "Mates, I'm getting
hungry. Let's get inside and organize some lunch. We'll call the kids in
when it's ready. Later tonight, remind us to ask you about those condos you
own at The Papermill Building. Like the one Doc bought from you."

X X X

"I wish my brother was still around so he could meet your dads and your
uncles." Thiago and the other two boys had spent most of the day in and out
of the water; they were now back on the bow net, enjoying the view of the
nighttime sky. "I wish he'd been able to see past those jerks at his
school, and realized it does get better."

"Did he talk about what he was going through?" asked CJ.

Anchored in Occoquan Bay, within sight of two National Wildlife Refuges,
light pollution from the urban environment didn't interfere with their view
of a sky full of stars. The teens spoke in soft voices, as if their
surroundings called for respect and reverence. Gone were the bawdy jokes,
the good-natured taunts and shouts of the daytime. The slap of the water
against the sides of the boat, and their hushed conversation, replaced
them. CJ imagined being in one of the old majestic cathedrals, this one
consecrated to Mother Nature.

"Not really. He was always kinda quiet. When he came home for Christmas he
was even more so. I kept asking if anything was wrong, he kept telling me
no." The tinge of sadness in Thiago's voice made his friends remain quiet,
allowing their friend to share his thoughts. "He could have seen gay people
are like anybody else, if he'd met those men back there. He should have
asked for help instead of keeping it all inside. Hell, he could have
dropped out of school. My parents might have gotten upset, but at least he
might still be alive today."

"Bro, that frickin' sucks. My little sisters are a pain in the ass, but I
wouldn't trade them for anything. I can't imagine losing one of them."
Harley's quiet tone and subdued behavior were a surprise to CJ. He realized
there was more to his friend than the wild, funny, skateboarder. "I'm not
sure how you can handle it so well."

"I didn't at first, and I still lose it all the time. Right afterwards, I
was a mess. Mom tried to get me to talk to the pastor at church, and I went
crazy on her. I screamed I'd never talk to the asshole. He'd preached
against homosexuality more than once, and we'd all sat through the hate he
spewed from the pulpit." The strangled sobs Thiago was fighting not to let
out, did little to conceal his anger when he spoke of the minister. "I
haven't been to a church since then.  Ended up calling the hotline at The
Trevor Project , and although my situation isn't exactly what they're
around for, the lady who answered was extremely nice. She talked to me for
a bit, and then gave me the number of a local priest who she said I should
talk to."

"So you wouldn't talk to your minister, but you ended up talking to a
priest?" After his recent encounter with the one from Boston, CJ was a bit
surprised a cleric had apparently helped his friend.

"Yeah, an Episcopal priest. He works with troubled kids out of an office in
the hood, and helps run a gay support group. I talked to him a couple of
times, he helped me realize there was nothing I could do, or could have
done, about my brother. He suggested maybe, in his honor, I could help
others. That's how I ended up joining the GSA."

X X X

"They're awfully quiet, aren't they?" asked JP. The four older men sat on
the same bench they'd been on earlier in the day. The awning had been drawn
back, and they were gazing at the same sky full of stars the teens were
looking at. "Wait until we do something like this in Oz, mates.  You'll get
to see the Southern Cross and all sorts of different constellations."

"I'm looking forward to it. Considering the amount of energy those three
spent today, I'm surprised they haven't fallen asleep." Cesar was lazily
tracing the outline of Brett's chest tattoo with his finger. The marine had
laid down on the padded bench, resting his head on his husband's lap. "So,
what was it you guys wanted to ask about the apartments?"

"You have any empty ones in the building? Or are any coming available in
the near future?"  asked JP.

"The ones we still own in that building are leased and won't be available
until next summer at the earliest. But we have one next door, at the
Papermill Condo building, opening up in two months. The tenant already told
us she's moving out. You know someone looking for a place to rent?"

"Yeah, us. Maybe."

Tom's reply made Brett open his eyes and sit up. "Why? What's going on?"

"Nothing yet, and maybe nothing at all," chuckled the cop, obviously
enjoying the reaction of his friend. "We've had realtors approach us asking
if we'd consider selling."

"Really? That's interesting. Have they mentioned a dollar amount?" Typical
financial mind, Cesar was immediately looking at the dollars. "Wait, but
you love the place. You wouldn't sell, right?"

"Mate, we'd more than triple our investment if the numbers they're tossing
around are for real."

"Sheeet!" said Brett as he softly whistled.

"Eloquent, Jarhead," chuckled Tom. "Docking facilities on the Potomac are
scarce, EPA regulations have gotten stricter since our place was
constructed, and there aren't many houses with so much river frontage on
either side of the river." The cop sipped his brandy laced coffee as he
ticked off each point. "The chances of anything like what we have being
built from scratch are minimal. Plus, ours is in top shape right now after
rebuilding the seawall this summer."

"Okay, I can see it. But I have two questions." Brett reached for the
bottle of Courvoisier resting on the floor and added a healthy splash to
his mug. "First, what happens with the PP? Second, why would you want to
rent?"

"Hang on, I gotta pee." Tom stood up, walked to the side of the boat,
pushed his shorts down, and let a stream fly into the river. "I'd buy a
spot at Gangplank Marina for the PP. We'd definitely be able to afford it,
and the available amenities are great."

"As for the renting part, we just don't want to be rushed trying to find
something quickly, mate." JP lifted his head from the cushion, and placed
it on his husband's lap once again when the man resumed his spot on the
bench. "You guys know my cousin Ozzie, Spencer's brother, is coming to live
with us starting next August. He'll be here at least three years while he
goes to law school. Tom's kids will hopefully become regular visitors, so
we need a large enough place.  And we want to make sure it's one we can
stay in for a long time. Neither one of us likes to move."

"Okay, so this may happen quickly but we don't know how quickly. Or it may
take a while for a sale to take place. Brett and I will keep the unit open
when it becomes available so you guys can have it whenever you need
it. Right, babe?"

"But--" JP was quickly interrupted by Cesar.

"No buts. If you happen to sell before it's available, you just move in
with us on a temporary basis, the same way Doc did. It's funny, Brett and I
were talking about the possibility of building out the basement and turning
the space over to CJ. We've had sleepovers the past two weekends, and I
have to assume there will be many more over the next few years."

"You're going to turn that huge basement into one room for a teenager?"
Tom's surprised comment made both Brett and Cesar snort.

"Fuck no! We'd carve out at least two bedrooms and a man-cave. I'd love to
have a pool table at home, but Cesar wouldn't let me put one in the first
floor. I suggested we could use it for dinner parties if we put a top on
it. The decorator shook his head and made a disparaging remark about gay
men who lack the design gene. Anyway, after we exile CJ down there, we may
want to split up the second floor and have three rooms there instead of
two."


Tuesday, 24 September 2013

After spending the weekend aboard the catamaran, CJ, Harley, and Thiago
were fast becoming inseparable. The blooming friendship between the three
boys led them to hang out together before and after classes, and during
lunch. Thiago fit right in with the small group which had been sharing a
table for the past couple of weeks.

"You did well, CJ." Autumn placed her tray on the table and sat across from
him, smiling when she spoke.

"Well, thank you. That's good to know. What exactly did I do so well?" His
puzzled look and his question brought chuckles from those around the table.

"The way you handled Kenton. I think some people were expecting you to beat
him up after what happened with Lance."

"Wish he had..."

"Harley, darling, stuff food in your mouth and shut the heck up." Autumn's
sweet tone caused the general chuckling to return. "Anyway, you treated him
like an adult, and I don't think too many people have ever done so. He
probably gets yelled at, called names, or ignored, and has no idea why. He
does now. The kid's actually been tolerable the last few days. I still
don't want to spend time with him, but I don't have the urge to wring his
neck all the time as before."


Thursday, 26 September 2013

"O... M... G..." Autumn seemed ready to explode with excitement when she
rushed to sit at the group's table--next to CJ this time. "You're not going
to believe what I got as a birthday present.  A car!"

"That's fantastic! Did you get what you wanted?" Thiago asked.

"Well, yeah. I mean, like I knew it was going to be an American car. I just
wasn't sure which one.  But I got a green Ford Fiesta! It's like the cutest
thing, ever!"

Harley made a funny face when the car's color was mentioned but didn't make
any remarks about it. "How come you knew it would be an American car?"

"Like, duh, Harley. My family's from Michigan? Anyway, you'll all get to
see it Saturday at my party. And since I'm eighteen, my license is like a
real one now. I may even take some of you guys for a ride to the mall. No
more restrictions on the number of passengers under twenty-one in the car."

"Bro, that reminds me. My mom and dad have a party to go to the same night
as Autumn's.  One of them's going to call your dads and offer to drive you
to the party. They'll pick us up when theirs is over and take you back home
too." Harley placed his mouth next to CJ's ear and whispered to him. "Ain't
no frickin' way I'm going to the mall with a bunch of girls. Yuck!"


Saturday, 28 September 2013

The birthday party was called for seven, but CJ and Harley arrived somewhat
closer to eight.  Autumn had asked the guests to make a contribution to the
StandUp Foundation instead of bringing presents. Even if it was just a
dollar. There was a large, clear glass jar in the middle of the dining room
table, halfway filled with bills of different denominations and some
checks.

Shouts of Harley and Miami greeted the friends as they walked in; Autumn
came running up to hug and kiss both of them. CJ handed her a card, asking
her to keep the amount private. With his fathers' permission, he had
written a generous check.

"Harley, go get some food, you're always hungry. I need to introduce CJ to
someone who asked to speak with him."

"Food! Yeah!"

Damn, was he easy to distract, thought CJ.

X X X

Although the food was laid out inside on the dining room table, the real
party was outdoors.  Multiple Tiki torches and candle lanterns hanging from
the trees lit up the backyard, giving it a festive atmosphere. There was a
server behind a table pouring sodas and juices for the kids.  Several
bottles stored underneath were reserved for serving the adults. The
majority of the older crowd would return inside after getting their drinks,
while the younger crowd remained on the patio.

"Grandpa, this is Cesar -, Jr. CJ, this is my grandfather, Representative
John David Dingell, Jr."  Autumn had steered CJ towards an older gentleman
sitting in a wheelchair, holding a cane in one hand, and a glass of wine in
the other. "I've been telling him about you: how during our first meeting,
you called me out for something I screwed up, how you had the guts to come
talk to me about it afterwards, and how you got Ben Cohen to come to the
school."

"It's good to see you again, Congressman." CJ smiled as he shook hands with
the older man.  "What do you mean getting Ben to come to the school?"

"You've met before? You didn't tell me that, Grandpa. And about Mr. Cohen,
let's just say I've got my sources. You just confirmed it by calling him
Ben anyway. Means you're on a first name basis with him. Aha!"

"You're in trouble, CJ. My granddaughter's nosy and always seems to figure
out stuff nobody's supposed to know." The Congressman gazed at Autumn with
an affectionate look. "I'm surprised she admitted to doing something
wrong. You must have shocked the living daylights out of Ms. Perfect."

"Grandpa!"

"To answer your question, dear, I met your young friend this summer. He was
an intern in Senator Rubio's office. I remembered the name when you first
mentioned him."

"Sir, it's such an honor you remember me. I am at a loss for words."

"Ha! Based on what I have heard that would be a first. After Autumn
mentioned your name, I called Senator Rubio's office to ask about you. His
Chief of Staff couldn't say enough nice things.  Spare a few minutes for an
old man?"

"It would be my pleasure, Mr. Dingell. I'll visit with you for as long as
you want. It's not every day I get to hang out with the longest-serving
member of the House of Representatives. Wow!"

"Hmmm, you are definitely as sharp as Senator Rubio and his people
claimed. I am suitably impressed. Not many people your age would know such
a little bit of trivia as my length of service. I understand you're a
sophomore?"

"Yes, sir, that is correct."

"Have you given any thought to what you would like to do after graduation?"

"Yes, sir, definitely college. If I could find a university which would
allow me to triple major in Architecture, English and Politics, I would
jump through any necessary hoops to attend. Being realistic, in all
likelihood I'll study Architecture and minor in English. Politics I can
learn about on my own."

"Smart. Very smart. Living in Washington will allow you to soak up as much
of the political atmosphere as you wish to. I'll let you go enjoy your
friends now, but I want you to call my office on Monday. Ask for my Chief
of Staff, she'll be expecting your call. I'd like to arrange for you to
come down to the Capitol at some point, and spend a day or two with me. You
did a stint with a Republican already, time to give a turn to the other
side of the aisle."

"Yes, sir, I'll most definitely call her. Thank you very much. I'm honored
and look forward to visiting with your staff. My dads will be real happy
about my spending time with a Democrat!"

X X X

The rest of the night was an absolute blast, everyone was in a great mood
and enjoyed themselves. Lance greeted CJ in an enthusiastic way when they
first ran into each other, then dragged him off to meet a couple of his
fellow baseball team members.

At one point, he ran into Jos‚-Marˇa and had a chance to speak with
him privately. "I was looking for you before, buddy. Are you ready for our
press conference on Wednesday?"

"Hi, CJ. I'm nervous. And when I'm nervous my accent gets worse. I hope I
don't sound stupid."

"You'll be fine. Listen I wanted to ask you two things: on Wednesday, my
parents are having the people involved in the assembly over for dinner and
we'd like you to come."

"Really? Yeah, I'd like that. Who's going to be there?"

"I think it's my dads and I, you, Mr. Rupple and his partner, Mrs. Edwards
and her husband, Ben Cohen, Hudson Taylor, and a reporter friend of ours
and his boyfriend."

"Wow, that's a lot of people. You must have a big house."

"Meh... not that big, but the dining room table sure is. My dads said one
of them can drive you home afterwards."

"I have a car, so I can drive, but I need your address. Where do you and
your dads live?"

"We're in Georgetown, I'll text you the address. The other thing I wanted
to ask about is next Saturday. Hmmm... this sounds weird, but I guess I
want to ask you out on a date. See, my dads have..."

Later, CJ and Harley were part of a conversation about peeing in the
shower. Every guy in the group admitted to doing it and couldn't understand
why most of the girls thought it was disgusting. Harley suggested they were
just jealous they couldn't aim the stream.

Towards the end of the night, CJ found himself sitting alone with Thiago on
a wrought iron bench underneath one of the trees with paper lanterns
hanging from it. "What's up, homey?  Having a good time?" asked Thiago,
smiling at CJ.

"Yeah! This is like the first party, since I moved to Washington, where I'm
not the only kid." CJ stretched out his legs in front of him and glanced
around at all the happy people enjoying themselves. "It's usually my dads'
friends and me."

"That can't be half bad if all their friends are like the ones I met last
weekend. Thanks again for inviting me, I had a great time."

"I'm glad you did. Not sure how many more chances to go out there'll be
while it's still warm enough to swim. Uncle Tom says as long as the river's
not frozen, they'll take the PP out for the day. I'll invite you again if
we do that."

"Thanks, and thanks for listening to me talk about my brother."

"Hey, man, that's what friends are for."

"Yeah well, I did some thinking about him when I got home on Sunday, and
kinda finally accepted there was little I could have done for him. Meeting
your dads may have helped him, but I realized no matter what anyone had
said or done, he'd probably still felt lost. The darkness can always creep
in when you're alone."



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The Trevor Project is the leading national organization providing crisis
intervention and suicide prevention services to lesbian, gay, bisexual,
transgender and questioning (LGBTQ) young people ages 13-24.

Trevor website: http://www.thetrevorproject.org/		
Trevor Lifeline: 866-488-7386

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Copyright 2015 CJ Abello
Edited by: Mann Ramblings

I'd enjoy hearing what you think. Please email me at: cjabello1997@gmail.com

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